By Seanan McGuire.
Sleep No More here. The Innocent Sleep here.
Previous book here.
I read these books month ago. Unfortunately, this was around the time of My Big Ol' Work-Incited Mental Breakdown, and frankly, my brain wasn't up to writing up stuff in detail that I'd normally want to write. I'm trying to do it today since I'm recovered and working (ELSEWHERE!) again and not doing much, but it's been awhile since I read them, and thus they'll be probably more vaguely reviewed than I'd like. But I want them off my to-do list of life, so here we go. I'm writing the reviews together under the circumstances.
These two books take place about four months after the last book and are taking place about the same time, with October narrating Sleep No More and Tybalt narrating The Innocent Sleep. October, for plot-related reasons, isn't privy to everything Tybalt may be, and thus we have companion books. Were they needed, though? In all honesty, I don't know. I tend to think that if you're going to do companion books, they need to fill in enough holes and details and be different enough from the first book for it to work, and in this case, there's just not all that much differentiation in what goes on between the two characters, especially once the four months that Tybalt experienced before October's narration starts are covered and they are both at the same time progression again. I sort of think doing a novella of Tybalt's experiences would have covered it. (I note by comparison that the novella at the end of "Sleep No More" does a good job of covering someone else's different experience/location during that time.) So I was a little less into the second book because it felt like a rehash book. I'd give Sleep No More about four stars and The Innocent Sleep about three for those reasons.
And now, on to the spoiler space and review.
Spoiler space for both books.
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Meet October, of no family name, a devoted servant in the household of Simon Torquil and Amandine. Per a mandate of Titania that everyone has to produce one changeling child as a servant for the house, October exists under polite sufferance. She's submissive, docile, and dedicated to her sister August, who adores her right back. It's a few days before Moving Day and anyone who wants to oh, flee to Golden Shores or anything like that because they're not enjoying Titania's reign over Northern California is booking it now. October wouldn't consider anything like that, of course, but when Li Quin, ruler of Dreamer's Glass, needs to borrow someone of Amandine's line to open a mysterious thing, October is dispatched to do it. When October pushes the button, her technodryad cousin April pops out, and suddenly very weird things start happening to totally change October's worldview and everything she's known.
You see, four months ago Titania overwrote reality to the way she wants it, eliminating (somewhere) the species she doesn't want, re-creating dead people she does want, and keeping October and everyone else remaining oblivious to it all. Some people can figure out ways to pop those reality bubbles, but it takes awhile and is draining to do. Meanwhile October is all, "Wait, we still have Cait Sidhe? I'm married to him? Mr. Cranky McSulkypants over there who keeps glaring? That's creeping me out," and Tybalt is naturally quite bothered that his wife doesn't recognize him (and also, um...how's she doing, physically?). And time is ticking because Moving Day is the time where Titania needs to make her reality permanent, by going to the Heart of Faerie...you get where that's going.
These alt-universe books are intriguing in seeing how Titania would make the world to her liking, and figuring out what she did with some people (though the books never do spell out what happened with some). It brings back the whole Heart of Faerie deep-sixing idea. And I liked how the alt-universe people went at times--Arden and Nolan come off particularly well. And this book redeems August and gives her and October a bond that they didn't/couldn't have had otherwise. It's possible to have those memories at the same time, thank goodness.
As for the novellas at the end, "Candles and Starlight" does a good job of covering Rayseline's experience as one of Titania's deep-sixed people and especially her super awkward "oh yikes, we're related now?" meeting with Dean. I was less into "Doubtless and Secure," which is Helmi's narration of Dianda's unhappily married parents, her jerky brother, and Dianda coming into her own as a ruler. (I was amused at the foreshadowing at the end of that, though.)
In the end, things are resolved in a big (albeit temporary) way, which makes me wonder where the series goes from there? I know we've got a year off or so before the next book since the author is changing publishers, and I know I'm concerned as to how Toby's going to be an action hero with a baby. The books currently end in 2015--will we have a big jump ahead so that their kid is old enough to be left with May as the babysitter? How quickly do fae children age, anyway? Can we get some Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome going on? Hmmmmmm. I guess we'll see in 2025.
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